Tangles: A Cold War Love Story and Mystery

When a harpooned whale provides evidence that the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is endangering life in the Columbia River Basin, young scientist Luke Hinson sees an opportunity to investigate his father's death. However, a thyroid cancer diagnosis interrupts his research. Between treatments, Luke continues his work, making enemies in the process. During an overnight trek, he discovers that Mary, his former neighbor, had pursued the same dangerous investigation a decade earlier. Her disappearance may be connected to Hanford's harmful practices, which are shrouded in government secrecy. This Cold War home-front story combines a love story with a mystery, exploring the costs of the nuclear age's development. The narrative follows Luke's fierce determination as a fatherless son and examines the quiet courage of women harmed by these practices, while illustrating the power of individual action against institutional secrecy.